DeadState

Fox News poll: Bernie Sanders and Planned Parenthood are the most popular things in America

Amidst heightened Republican attacks on Planned Parenthood from Republicans, a new poll by none other than Fox News suggests House GOP lawmakers’ latest policy decisions are contrary to what the vast majority of Americans want.

Amidst heightened Republican attacks on Planned Parenthood from Republicans, a new poll by none other than Fox News suggests House GOP lawmakers’ latest policy decisions are contrary to what the vast majority of Americans want.

According to the poll released on Wednesday, Sen. Sanders and the women’s health organization have higher favorability ratings than any other person or group in American politics. Sixty-one percent of polled Americans either “strongly” or “somewhat” favor Sanders, and 57 percent of polled Americans either “strongly” or “somewhat” favor Planned Parenthood.

For further perspective, where Sanders’ favorability rating is 29 points higher than his unfavorable ratings, and Planned Parenthood’s favorability rating is 25 points higher than its unfavorable ratings, President Donald Trump’s favorability rating is 9 points lower than his unfavorable ratings, where Speaker Ryan’s favorability rating is 10 points lower.

These ratings are not surprising when one considers how many millions of low-income women, youths, and members of the LGBTQ community rely on Planned Parenthood for advice, sexual health education, STI testing and treatment, breast cancer screenings, and of course, crucial access to birth control which has dramatically contributed to lowering rates of unwanted pregnancy and, as a result, abortions in recent years.

Despite constantly facing retribution and rhetorical attacks from Republican lawmakers, abortions constitute just 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services, and are not subsidized with federal funding due to the Hyde amendment, which prohibits taxpayer dollars from funding the procedure and as a result, renders abortion inaccessible to many low-income women.

With 57 percent of Americans supporting Planned Parenthood’s work, there is no reason for the American Healthcare Act to defund the organization that millions of Americans need to make safe reproductive decisions and control their bodies.

Sanders’ high favorability ratings are also worth considering in the context of the GOP’s American Healthcare Act, which would render healthcare inaccessible to an estimated 24 million Americans, all while dramatically cutting taxes for America’s wealthiest.

Throughout the campaign season, Sanders made public education, environmental protection, regulating Wall Street, progressive taxation, and, arguably above all, universal healthcare, the staples of his platform. Sanders argued that the Affordable Care Act was simply a step in the right direction, and America needed single-payer healthcare as a human right for all Americans.

According to the most recent polling regarding healthcare in 2016, 58 percent of Americans wanted change — specifically, from Obamacare to universal healthcare. This poll, and high favorability ratings for Sanders’ progressive take on healthcare, show just how alarming the contrast between the American Healthcare Act and what the vast majority of Americans want.

The Fox poll was conducted among 1,008 registered voters earlier this month.